Spike Jonze on Directing the Invisible Art

Spike Jonze initially envisioned his adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, being brought to life by actors in suits with animatronic faces.  When the animatronic heads were too heavy for the suit actors to wear he came to Framestore for the subtle, naturalistic facial performances of his Wild Things.

While much of his distinctive filmography - encompassing titles like Being John Malkovitch and Adaptation - might not scream “VFX!” Where The Wild Things Are brought about a fundamental change in how the VFX industry approached animation. 

A quiet, dream-like masterpiece built around mood and subtle performance, the 2009 film presented a challenging circle to square: how to combine nuanced animated facial performance with practical FX and the voice work of actors like James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, and Forest Whitaker.

In this film, Jonze discusses what it takes to elevate animated performance, and how the film’s animators were an essential part of the creative process. 

“Animators are embodying the character they're in. They're owning the character like the suit actor did or the voice actor did.  

“They either bring something to life or they don't - it's either electric or it's flat.”

Watch Spike Jonze: Directing the Invisible Art and an interview James Gunn, or revisit The Invisible Art, on our YouTube channel now.